Hyrulean Sunset
by Blacknoise
Summary: PG-13 for blood content. A LOT. This is my first Zelda fic, so be nice. I know it's short, but I'm busy with an epic right now, so... yeah. To be short, Link is visited by Sheik after completing the Shadow temple. Mild angst, infinitesimal shounen-ai. R/R


Hyrulean Sunset

Hyrulean Sunset 

A Zelda Ficlet by The Water Warrior

Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda belongs to Nintendo and Miyamoto-sama, the Creator-god of all that is cool. ('cept for anime, manga, and soccer and Tae Kwon Do, and music in all its forms… ^^:) Link is very cool… 

Statement: Although it doesn't pertain to my story directly, I'd like to say that fanfic authors have every right to alter storylines to suit their plans. For example, people are allowed to make Sheik a separate character if they so desire. We all know that Sheik is Zelda. If I were ever to write a fic where this was not true, I'd hope that no one had the gall to flame me calling me an idiot or something because of that. I HAVE PLAYED OCARINA OF TIME 5 TIMES OVER. _I KNOW HOW IT GOES_. Ok? It's called creative license. We're allowed to do that. I'll ask the ignoramuses in the crowd to please keep their pie holes firmly shut, thank you very much. Now that that's over, let's get on with the fic. (smiles winsomely)

***

Blood… so much blood… he hated it. His hands were caked with the stuff, stuck to his salty skin like old paint. Desperately, he wished to be clean… to be free of the burden, to be free to be his own man, but such was not the fate of the hero, he thought bitterly. The blood was his, torn savagely from his own battered body, and it was also Theirs. They, the countless hordes of the enemy, nothing but food, faceless food for his bloodthirsty blade… _Seek the Evil, Hero of Time. Kill them all. Purify the land._ The enchanted sword, the Master Sword, hissed at him throughout his struggles, fueling his desire to kill, if only to save the ones he loved…

Link, the legendary Hero of Time, looked heavenward from his camp on one of the many rolling hills in the immense Hyrule Field. The evening sky was clear and bright, the warm, golden yellow of the gently smoldering sun giving way sleepily to orange, crimson, fuchsia, violet, and finally velvety black, far in the East. The comforting light glowed pleasantly in Link's pained, weary blue eyes. 

The handsome blond sighed somewhat tragically, bending his exhausted body to retrieve his whetstone and cleaning cloth. It had been a hard day. Furiously, nearly vengefully, Link attacked his sword with the cloth, scraping away the bile and blood, the brains and tripe… the young Hylian's nose wrinkled in distaste. Finally satisfied, Link seized the whetstone and ran it expertly over the angry blade. The Master Sword glimmered in the waning sunlight like a beacon. Once the sacred blade was sharp enough to split a hair, Link returned it to its blue and gold sheath.

Link poked listlessly at the fire, the rabbit he had caught for supper only half done. "Why me?" he wondered aloud. (A/N: Read books by David Eddings! Then and only then will you understand!!!!) 

A smooth, androgynous voice responded for him.

"Destiny works in ways that few understand, Hero,"

Link wheeled around. "Sheik!"

The bandaged man smiled. Link could see it in his eyes. Ever polite, Link invited the mysterious youth to sit beside him. Sheik nodded in acquiescence and sat beside the seventeen year old warrior.

"I see that you have conquered the evil that lay beneath the village, in the Shadow Temple," Sheik observed.

Link snorted quietly. "Yeah, I have the acid burns and ReDead hickies to prove it," he said with a rueful laugh.

"So you have only one great test remaining before you confront Ganondorf."

"Yes." Link's eyes narrowed and grew distant at the mention of his enemy's name. A cold, fragrant wind gusted along the field, laden with the scent of pine and moss. The strong breeze lifted the golden hair of the duo, Link and Sheik. A few strips of bandaging came loose on the Sheikah teen's face, revealing more of the secret visage that few had seen. Link moved forward, suddenly intrigued. "Sheik," he began, hesitantly.

The deep ruby eyes looked at him warmly. "Yes?"

"Can I… I mean… would you take those bandages off your face?"

Sheik's eyes widened imperceptibly for a fraction of a second. _Should I?_ he thought, _It may be strange for him…_ "Very well," he murmured in his soft countertenor voice. The slender, wrapped hands reached up and removed what remained of the makeshift veil.

Link stared. Sheik was… well… he was at a loss. He'd never seen a man that looked so very delicate, almost crystalline, before. Sheik shook back a wealth of silver/blond hair and looked back at him, a silent question on his face. He had a very delicate nose, and a slightly pouting, rosebud mouth. The rubicund irises glittered before Link. The hero, meanwhile, was suddenly taken aback by Sheik's seeming femininity and grace. (A/N: If Zelda can shoot beams of light from her hands, she can change her gender to fool Ganon, OK?!)

"Satisfied, Hero?"

"Uh… yeah, thanks," Link's own sunny baritone was slightly shaky; he was still in awe of his beautiful friend. Sheik gazed off into the sunset, towards Lake Hylia, a vague smile on his face. 

"Soon," he whispered. "Soon, the true beauty shall return to this land."

"I'll do my best," Link said grimly.

Sheik laid a compassionate hand on Link's arm, a sudden, golden-browed frown wrinkling his alabaster face. "So much blood, with those innocent hands… oh, Link, I am truly sorry."

Link looked up to see Sheik's gorgeous eyes filling with tears. "And you were only a child…" the Shadow Boy choked. 

The Hylian tensed, Sheik's words striking a chord within him. Here he was, the picture of innocence lost, so young… he should have been playing, seven years ago. Should have been rolling in the grass, laughing with friends, without a care in the world. Yet he was forced to roam that same world, sadness and hopelessness threatening to engulf his tender soul. Vile blood coating his hands, anguish in his heart, Destiny on his heels. The pain, wave after wave of it, rushed to the surface, shattering the grim façade and causing the Hero of Time of collapse, sobbing like a lost little boy, onto Sheik's thin shoulder.

"I…I just wish the pain would stop, Sheik… why… why did she turn to me?"

It was Sheik's turn to stiffen, now. "She was only a little girl, Link. The Goddesses chose you as their champion, not her. She was acting on the sacred orders of the Triad. She never meant to hurt you, of that I am sure."

"b… but…"

"Hush," Sheik said fondly, running his hands through Link's soft hair. "It's alright. You can do it. Finish what she started, and you'll be free. Forever."

"For…ever?" Link looked up, suddenly hopeful.

"Yes, Link. Forever."

"And the blood will be gone, too. Never again." Link said, firmer this time. "Once he's dead, I'll never have to kill again." 

"That's right," Sheik murmured. He encased Link's leather gauntlets in his own thin hands and closed his eyes in concentration. _Nayru, give me strength to heal his soul,_ he prayed fervently. A pale blue light grew around Link and Sheik's intertwined hands, humming softly. Gradually, the blood and gore on Link's hands glittered and vanished, the sparkling remnants carried away and into the setting sun. And the Hero breathed freely once more.

~OWARI~

The end. R/R, pleez. ^_^ Love ya! Sure, It's short, but I don't wanna commit to TWO epics at once. Sorry, folksies. 


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